I’ve been natural for around 3 ½ years. I enjoy my natural hair and my overall natural hair journey, but it hasn’t been all coconut oil* and smiles.
I’ve had some pretty horrifying experiences that I can look back on and sigh, sometimes even laugh. I’ve made a lot of dumb natural hair decisions and wanted to share my experiences to help you guys realize that being natural is also a learning process. Always remember to be patient with yourself and your hair. Here are my top three most traumatic natural hair experiences:
Clipper Happy
When I first went natural, I wore my hair in a Mohawk type style, meaning it was cut low on the sides and long down the middle. I would dye the sides of my hair light brown and the middle platinum blonde. Looking back, it wasn’t the cutest thing on me, but I was really feeling it at the time.
Anyways, I would go to the barbershop every couple of weeks to get my sides tapered when they started to grow out. But this particular time, I didn’t have money to go to the barbershop and my sides were looking rough. I wasn’t sure what to do. I wouldn’t have the money to get my hair cut for another few weeks.
Then I remembered my mother cut my brother’s hair when I was growing up and she occasionally still does. I thought, why not ask her to cut down my sides. I wouldn’t have to wait a few more weeks and I would save myself the money. Sounds like a good idea, right? I asked her and she agreed.
So, I went home to get my hair cut. Everything started off normal. We shampooed and conditioned my hair; she placed a guard on the clippers (so as not to cut my hair too low) and proceeded to cut my hair. The setting was pretty relaxed so we started having conversations about my life in college and I guess she got a little clipper happy. The guard popped off the clippers but my mom didn’t notice and continued cutting into the longer portion hair.
By the time she noticed, I already had a bald patch in the middle of my head and there was nothing we could do about it. I was immediately overwhelmed and started to cry. My mom tried to console me and then began to cry herself. My brothers came to the kitchen wondering what on earth we were crying about. “It can’t be that bad, let me see,” they said.
I remember showing them and seeing the shocked look on their faces like “yep, it’s pretty bad.” The next day was Thanksgiving, and I was fortunately able to get in touch with a childhood beautician before family and friends came over. She advised that we just shave my entire head. That’s right, I went completely bald! Although it took some getting used to, I eventually adored my shaved head and I wore it that way for a while.
